Stewardship

Our Mission . . .

To inspire love, to seek justice, and to grow in community.

Our Vision . . .

Our vitality and passion call us to restore and expand our space to equal the energy of our dreams. As we do, we are better equipped to carry on our historic legacy and embrace our potential for connection, service, programming and outreach.

Our Covenant . . .

We affirm that each life has brilliance and, when joined with others in joyful community, has the power to transform. We pledge ourselves and our resources to this journey.

This covenant inspires and challenges us to dwell together in right relationship. We promise to extend hospitality, nurture community for all ages, encourage spiritual growth, honor diversity, and practice kindness.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent’s Program Budget clearly depicts how our stewardship relates to our annual budget and allows us to better communicate how our financial contributions fund our programs and ministries. Our Church operates solely on donations and fundraising; this visual form of Program Budgeting demonstrates how our pledges and other resources directly support the many activities and ministries of our Church. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent has a surprising number of ministries, programs, committees, teams, and events that give life to our mission.

The UU Church of Kent congregation has a stellar tradition of supporting our beloved institution through generous pledges. Our average annual pledge during the last twenty-eight years has risen from $400 to over $1800. Because of this significant generosity, we have been able during that time period, 1990 to 2018, to grow our staff to include a full-time Minister, a three-quarter time Congregational Administrator, a half-time Music Director, a half-time Director of Religious Education, a part-time Religious Education Coordinator, a part-time Sexton, and a part-time Nursery Staff member. Together, our countless committed lay-leaders and our very dedicated staff have developed and maintained the wonderful programmatic ministries that we all enjoy and benefit from. These include our inspiring Sunday services and Worship Arts Team, varied Music ministries, Religious Education programs, Pastoral Care, Social Justice Council, Green Sanctuary, Walden, Hogwarts — as well as many, many others.

Throughout those twenty-eight years, we have greatly improved our historic building by adding a new roof, tuck-pointing the bricks, adding new bathrooms and an elevator. Through generous congregational support, we were able to purchase and renovate the Eldredge Annex as our Church office and meeting site. Also, we expanded our campus with the purchase of additional property. We re-opened the original front entrance of our Church and then again renovated it to welcome the Kent community with glass doors that express our mission.

Now, we find ourselves on the cusp of our future, a future in which we will yet again open doors. This time, we’ll be opening our doors to welcome our new settled minister as well as to move into our long-awaited fellowship hall. Opening these doors together will allow us to live more fully into our mission: to inspire love, to seek justice, and to grow in community.

In this year of search and transition, we are looking forward to further exploring our tradition of shared ministry with our new settled minister. Our deep commitment to fair compensation for our minister and staff and the funds necessary for the operation of our new fellowship hall will require us all to give and give generously through our annual pledge commitments.

Thank you for your continuing generous support as we walk together through our new doors into an exciting future!

Did you miss the Information Meeting regarding stewardship and the Church budget? Congregational Leaders from Finance including the Treasurer, the Personnel Coordinator, the Board, and the Stewardship Team presented information about the budget and our Church’s commitment to Fair Share and Fair Compensation. We hope you’ll take a few moments and listen: